More than 60 workers employed by Aberdeen airport-based helicopter services firm CHC Scotia are taking part in strike action from today.
Unite the Union said members employed by CHC at Aberdeen, Humberside and Norwich airports were participating in a rolling strike programme until December 17.
Unite’s members at CHC will also observe a continuous overtime ban until one minute after midnight of November 28.
More than four in five CHC workers voted in favour of the strikes
Unite said 80.4% of its members across the three affected airports voted in favour of industrial action, on a turnout of 95%.
The strikes got under way in Aberdeen at 5am today, while workers at Norwich and Humberside airports will start theirs tomorrow.
A spokesperson for CHC said: “CHC is committed to engaging in constructive conversations with trade unions and employee representatives.
“We are disappointed by Unite’s decision to strike.
“Negotiations should always be a dialogue, and we are ready to continue that dialogue.”
Union members ‘angry’ at CHC pay offer
Unite said the pay dispute centred on CHC’s staggered pay offer of a 2.5% increase backdated to April this year, followed by a further 5% backdated to November 1. An additional 3.5% increase would have been applied in 2024.
But the union said the offer was “emphatically rejected” by 79% of its members.
And it pointed to the broader inflation figure, which stood at 11.4% in April.
Unite industrial officer John Clark said CHC workers were “rightly angry” at being offered a 2.5% increase backdated to April “at a time when inflation was in double figures”.
He added: “The company haven’t listened to its workforce and our members will continue to take strike until they do.
“We hope the first round of strike action focuses the minds of management to do what is required to resolve this dispute, or it could escalate further.”
Unite general-secretary Sharon Graham said the union’s members were left with “no option” but to strike.
“Our members will not accept a significant real terms pay cut,” Ms Graham said, adding: “CHC Scotia must substantially improve its offer to reflect the cost-of-living crisis.”
CHC workers represented by Unite include aircraft engineers, aircraft mechanics, and aeronautical engineers, among others.
The company provides helicopter support services for the offshore energy market, as well as search and rescue for major North Sea firms including Shell and Petrofac.
In July the firm announced it had secured a contract to provide crew change services to the Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm off the east coast of England.
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